When Jack Met Isla

Tuesday, 18 August 2015

I've been meaning to post this for a while but I keep getting side-tracked.When I was pregnant with Isla, I would often wonder how Jack would react. I was nervous how he would react to my pregnancy but he seemed to love that. He developed a baby in his tummy but knew his sister was in mine. He would talk to my bump and cuddle it. Also at nursery he loved looking at the babies within the baby room, he loved playing with the other children like a big boy and knew with babies to be gentle - he was a natural.

On the evening of having Isla, Jack was brought over to the hospital to meet his little sister. My request was the Jack would be first to meet her. I thought it was important Jack got to be with his new little sister and interact with her first. As it was teatime by the time I got back onto the ward, Jack was given his tea and then came over to the hospital. I was both nervous and excited to how he would react, would he be happy or sad. I didn't want to push meeting Isla onto him and force him to like or hold her. When they arrived at the hospital, it was clear to see Jack didn't know what to think. He had just spent the night away from me which he hadn't for a while and I was lay in a hospital bed with a cannula sticking out my hand holding a strange baby.Jack wanted lots of cuddles from me rather than being interested in the baby, which was fine. He knew it was his sister but didn't understand much other than that. He asked my mum if she could put Isla back in my tummy as he didn't want her here and he wanted me. After he had been at the hospital for a short while, he was a lot happier around her, whilst still being a little unsure. He had his first little hold of her but only for a short period of time.

We had got Jack a little present from Isla, a crane for his train track something he loves. Even now when he plays with it, he knows it's his present from Isla even though at the beginning he wasn't bothered it was from her.

Unknown to us, Jack was actually coming down with tonsillitis and this added to him being a little sensitive.As soon as we were back home, and Jack came back to stay with me everything became a lot easier for him. He started loving his baby sister, asking for cuddles with her. I think with him being ill with tonsillitis and not being in his own environment, well temporary one he found everything a little overwhelming.